


Bagel and a Beginning, A

by Lah7417



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-11
Updated: 2013-04-11
Packaged: 2019-05-30 13:11:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15097388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lah7417/pseuds/Lah7417
Summary: A lemon poppyseed bagel makes its way around the White House in a humorous expose of the senior staff.





	Bagel and a Beginning, A

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

TITLE: A Bagel and a Beginning 1/2  
AUTHORS: Lisa Bland and Pat Steiner  
DISCLAIMER: West Wing belongs to NBC et al. NO copyright infringement is intended. The following is for enternainment only. 

"A Bagel and a Beginning" Part 1  
Josh Lyman was as usual racing into work to beat the buzzer, even though he was early. He may be early but he was also hungry. He set down his case and jacket and then made for the snack machine in a back hall. He dropped one of the quarters and had to fish it out from under the edge of the machine. Then the buttons asked him twice what he wanted. "Why does technology have to be so stupid?!" he grunted as he kicked the machine. Suddenly it began to work, the food began to appear and then it stopped. "Of all the-" Josh grunted and then putting his shoulder into it he began to ram the machine. He banged the sides and kicked the front and finally the machine gave up and released the food. He picked it up and rearranged his hair from the struggle. "Lemon poppyseed?" Josh made a sour face at the package as he returned for his office. His aide was there when he arrived and he smiled at her, handing her the bagel. "Donna change this out please? What have we got for today?" He asked, sitting down with a sigh and still looking like he'd been in a struggle.  

"Sorry new diet" she smiled, "yogurt, wheat germ, and cucumber slices. Oh hey if you catch me tomorrow it would be a banana smoothie with bee pollen."  

"Already this day is going into the toilet. Donna please. Starving boss here. And I am your boss you know. The person who does your ratings, and don't you have a raise due?"  

"OK, I hate to see a man whine" Donna laughed, snatching the bagel back from him. She returned a few minutes later, bagel in hand. "Here" she smiled sweetly, "and that's going to cost you Mister. Maybe a lunch at..."  

  
"Josh I need to talk to you" Sam called and Josh walked toward him, still staring oddly at the bagel. "I want to see your notes on the meeting of the 15th concerning Cuba and.....hey are you going to eat that? Because the machine is out and I don't have time to make a cafeteria run."  

"Oh no," Josh said as if he was finally catching up with all that Sam had said. He handed him the bagel, "consider yourself the proud owner of a bagel. Now about the Cuba meeting..." Josh began to look around. Donna snatched the notes up from a neat stack in his otherwise disorderly office and handed them to Sam. "Thanks," Sam said already beginning to read the notes and walking of with the bagged bagel.  

"Okay I owe you," Josh sighed to Donna, "lunch at Havershim's make sure you clear plenty of room in the schedule, after all there went my breakfast." he looked in the direction Sam had gone with a sigh. 

Meanwhile Sam had just finished looking over the notes and finally started studying the bagel bag, "lemon poppyseed?" he asked no one. He breezed into Leo's office and setting the bagel down on the desk announced, "There's a joint meeting with the head of the Marines and the head of the Navy to discuss war exercises off the Carolinas at eleven." Then he left, leaving the bagel to be Leo's responsibility. 

Leo had just turned back to his computer when Toby walked in, collapsed onto a chair and fixed his eyes on the bagel. "Help you Toby?" Leo asked. "I'm hiding in here" Toby informed him. "This was the weekend from hell and today hasn't been much improvement. Do I have dump on me tattooed on my forehead? My car broke down Saturday in the middle of the GW Parkway. It's going to take 2 weeks to get the part from a loading dock in Singapore or something. Then yesterday I'm on the bus to the airport to pick up a rental--the only place open on Sunday--and some idiot cuts the bus off who smashes into him. No one hurt, but it took two hours to clear it; and I'll probably have to go to court, and....you're not really listening to me are you?"  

"I'm knee deep in notes, why don't you try CJ, she generally seems more sympathetic," Leo answered, "by the way what is our stance on war practices off the Carolinas?" "What is my stance or what is the President's stance?" Toby countered. "What is the President's stance?" Leo confirmed. "As long as it's good clean fun let the training continue," Toby replied with a sigh and then as he was rising Leo gave him the bagel. "Thanks and maybe this will help," Leo replied and Toby took the bagel to save him the trouble. Then he decided to go back to his office and type for a while and mope about his weekend himself before seeking out CJ. 

In the meantime Donna stepped into Josh's office. "Time for your 12:30, lunch at Haversham's." she smiled.  

When he looked blank she stuck her tongue out. "Remember you're taking a pretty woman to lunch today?"  

"Oh right. Someone I know or a blind date?" Josh teased and the tongue came out further. "Come on, I'm starving. And let's walk. Parking is a nightmare and when we come back it will be good to walk off that food." 

They slipped out the side door and walked out the back gate, onto 16th street without arousing any attention of the tourists. "This is the long way" Donna pointed out. "Yeah I know, and it's less crowded" Josh smiled, putting his hand around her elbow to guide her along, not telling her it was simply a ploy to gain an extra few minutes with her alone, away from the zoo that was the Wing. 

****

  


End file.
